Feature
In fresh audio clip Hizbul Mujahideen leader Riyaz Naikoo warns of suicide attacks by children
New Delhi: After recently deadly terrorist attack on CRPF troopers in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district in which Paramilitary forces lost lives of allmost 44 jawan returning from holiday which was conducted by Jaish-e-Mohammed now Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo warns of more suicide attacks.
Hizbul Mujahideen operational commander Riyaz Naikoo on Tuesday warned the Indian Army, CRPF and the Jammu and Kashmir Police to face more suicide attacks in near future.
The extremist group’s operational commander Riyaz Naikoo said Indian soldiers will keep dying until the Army remains in the Valley.
Naikoo in a purported audio message said it is the do-or-die situation for them as the security forces are committing atrocities on the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Issuing a direct threat, Naikoo told security forces that they will have to cry till the time they are in Kashmir and the coffins of the soldiers will continue to fill.
Naikoo made it clear that they are ready to die but will not allow security forces to live in the Valley. The 17-minute audio a release surfaced few days after the Pulwama suicide bombing which claimed lives of 44 CRPF personnel.
The Hizbul Mujahideen extremist group on Tuesday warned that children will soon carry out suicide bombings against Indian security forces in Kashmir. In an audio clip purportedly of Hizbul Mujahideen operational commander Riyaz Naikoo, he is heard saying that suicide attacks will take place because the condition in the Valley is of a “do-or-die situation” for Kashmiris, according to newspaper reported.
Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo warns of more suicide attack on security forces by children:
“You will have to cry till the time you are here,” Naikoo said in the clip that was released on social media groups. “The coffins of your soldiers will continue to fill till your Army is here. We are ready to die but won’t allow you to live as well.”
Naikoo claimed that the last week’s attack on a Central Reserve Police Force convoy in Pulwama district of Kashmir, which killed 40 jawans, was the consequence of atrocities India has committed on the people of the state. “We will keep on sacrificing our lives,” he said in the clip. “We prefer to die than surrender. The day is not far when our 15-year-old children will strap explosives on their bodies and barge into your Army vehicles. We prefer death over slavery.”
The militant group leader allegedly also warned Indians against attacking Kashmiris in other parts of the country. “Remember if anything happens to any Kashmiris outside, we will kill the non-local labourers in the Valley,” he said according to another leadgin Indian news paper.
“Till the Kashmir issue is not settled as per the aspirations of its people, every mother from Kashmir to Kanyakumari will have to bear the pain of losing their sons,” Naikoo added.
He said the attacks will continue until Indian forces remain in Kashmir. “We want to tell Indian people that by the oppression of their forces, our attacks won’t stop,” Naikoo added. “We know why your forces oppress Kashmiris. Because you don’t treat us as your own people. We also don’t consider India as our country.”
The Hizbul Mujahideen commander also challenged the Indian government to hold a plebiscite in Kashmir if it believes most people want to stay with India. “Yesterday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh while leaving Srinagar claimed that Kashmiris were with India,” he said. “I want to tell him if Kashmiris are with India and only five percent people want Azadi, why are you afraid of holding a plebiscite?”
Entertainment
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.